


Right Where You Left Me

by itsreallylaterightnow



Series: I Give Myself Five Days (To Forget You) [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: (emotional hurt), Angst with a happy ending?, Awesome Gwen Stacy, Awesome Michelle Jones, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Hurt Michelle Jones, I Love You, Is it happy?, Love Confessions, Michelle Jones Needs a Hug, Michelle Jones and Gwen Stacy deserve the world, Peter Parker Makes Bad Decisions, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Slow Burn (kinda), at all, canon nudged left, do with that what you will, emotional hurt Gwen stacy, its happy as far as I'm concerned, like really far, like... its not canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:09:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29546340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsreallylaterightnow/pseuds/itsreallylaterightnow
Summary: I give myself five days to forget you.On the first day I rust.On the second i wilt.On the third day i sit withFriends but i think about yourTongue.I clean my room on the fourthDay. i clean my body on theFourth day.I try to replace your scenton the fourth day.-or-Cardigan, August, Betty, Right Where You Left Me, and Champagne Problems as a Spideychelle & Spideygwen fic?? (And no, Gwen and Michelle do not hate each other, we don't pit women against one another in this house)
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Gwen Stacy, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy
Series: I Give Myself Five Days (To Forget You) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2170719
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Right Where You Left Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends! Okay, here comes my next romance work! I am so excited to take these songs written by Taylor Swift and turn them into a story for three of my favorite characters! 
> 
> Notes:  
> -Endgame never happened, no blip in this series  
> \- Peter, Michelle, and Gwen are all in College  
> \- GWEN AND MJ ARE NOT PITTED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER - that's not how we roll here. We support both of these ladies. This story is about bad decisions, trying to redeem yourself, realizing how your choices can hurt others, and forgiveness.  
> \- Peter Parker makes bad decisions, it follows the songs storylines, and though it feels a bit ooc, I'm doing my best to keep him as in character as possible, I promise. 
> 
> Without further ado: please enjoy
> 
> ALSO THANK YOU TO PETERSTARKSS FOR BETA'ING THIS FOR ME - I LOVE YOU!!!!
> 
> (This work is a part of a 5 part series - Future works will be much longer, with multiple chapters, this is sort of a prologue)

_ I give myself five days to forget you.  _

_ On the first day I rust. _

_ On the second i wilt.  _

_ On the third day i sit with _

_ Friends but i think about your  _

_ Tongue. _

_ I clean my room on the fourth  _

_ Day. i clean my body on the  _

_ Fourth day. _

_ I try to replace your scent  _

_ on the fourth day. _

_ The fifth day, i adorn myself  _

_ like the mouth of an inmate. _

_ A wedding singer dressed in _

_ Borrowed gold. _

_ The midas of cheap metal. _

_ Tinsel in the middle of summer. _

_ Crevice glitter, two days after the party. _

_ I glow the way unwanted _

_ Things do. _

_ A neon sign that reads; _

_ Come, i still taste like  _

_ someone else’s mouth _

_ -Warsan Shire _

  
  


Gwen sits at the booth in Bistango that she and Peter occupied so many years ago. It felt like only yesterday, like she could blink and find herself back with him, smoothing her hair and looking at the menu while trying to ignore the fact that she was certain she wouldn’t be able to eat due to the butterflies in her stomach. She remembers the way he kept glancing over his menu at her, his classic Peter-grin plastered on his face as they’d ordered pizza. 

Gwen looks down at the old, dried out rose. They’d been walking on their way to the restaurant when they’d passed a flower stand, the heat of the summer somehow suppressed by the beauty of the roses. Peter had handed the vendor a few dollars and grabbed her the red rose. She’d kept it, of course. Careful to dry it out in hopes of keeping it from ruining. Gwen’s eyes flick to the boarding pass beside her. She’d sent her luggage over to her new apartment already, planning on buying whatever she needed when she arrived. 

She’d been invited to instruct at Oxford. She’d never imagined that she would be moving to England, but she’d done everything she had to do in New York. It was time she left, found something new. New York was a cesspool. It was the perfect home for some, and a nightmare for others. Gwen - she’d been stuck for a long time. Feeling as though every turn was a reminder of what she’d lost… _who she’d lost._

Gwen set aside her plate, placing the rose at the other side of the table, where he’d once sat. Sometimes, when she didn’t stop her daydreams at the start, she thought about where he may be now. She kept up with Spider-Man of course, but Peter? She hadn’t been able to ask about him since he’d left her. She imagined him with a family, sitting with his wife on their couch, doing all of the mundane things she’d loved to do with him. She imagines waking up next to him, going to family events, having children, growing old. 

She remembers so clearly, what it was like their first night together. Gwen and Peter had met over the summer, after she’d been accepted to work as an intern at Stark Industries. Her and Peter had worked countless hours on their project together, laboring over the desks and equations for what felt like days. When they received news that they’d won the grant for their project, of course they had to celebrate! Tony had said he would take them for pizza at his favorite place, but he’d gotten an emergency call from Pepper. With a roll of his eyes, the billionaire had to cancel, but he gave them cash and told Peter and Gwen to celebrate on him. 

Gwen had been ecstatic - who wouldn’t be? Peter was painfully attractive and kind. She’d spent hours in the lab with him, and she found herself completely relaxed around him. He was easy. Easy to be around, easy to laugh with, easy to love. 

They’d ended up at the pizza place together, sitting across from one another and having a great time conversing. They talked about Peter getting his degree in biomedical engineering, and planning on working full-time for Tony Stark once he graduated.

Gwen had figured out pretty quickly that Peter was Spider-Man… as far as hiding one of the biggest secrets of his life - he was pretty crap at it. Whenever he’d had to drop out of working, she could count the minutes before she would be getting tweets about Spider-Man out on the street, and however long he fought, Peter would show up after the battle - a little sweaty, a little out of breath, and with his clothes smelling like sewer. 

She’d confronted him about it about three weeks into working with him. Of course, Peter had tried to deny it - but he’d always been pretty bad at lying. Since then, she’d found herself only admiring him more. It made sense that he would work for Stark in the future. He was a superhero, of course he would work close to the heroes of the world. 

They’d eaten dinner, just dwelling in one another’s company. 

When they’d finished, Gwen received a text from one of her roommates. 

“We’re having a party at my place apparently. Want to go?” She’d asked, hoping he’d say yes. Praying she could stay with him for just a while longer. She wasn’t ready for their time together to be over. 

“I should probably be going.” His eyes flashed, as though he were waging a war behind them. A battle playing out in his head. 

Gwen found herself resigned to winning the battle. She slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze.

“Come on, Peter! We just won one of the biggest grants we could have to fund this project, let yourself celebrate.” She’d flashed him a smile, and the war was over. Peter laughed a bit and nodded, gulping heavily. 

“Lead the way.” 

They’d made it to the party, and quickly found the inside of the apartment to be too cramped and loud. Gwen grabbed two drinks from the bar and nodded her head. 

“Follow me!” She’d hollered over the noise. Peter nodded, grabbing her hand as she weaved the two of them through the crowd and into her bedroom. Peter paused for a moment in her door frame, but she just pulled him forward, before letting go of his hand. “Grab a blanket off the bed, it's chilly out there.”  
“Out where?” He’d asked, but she was too busy pushing her window up and locking it in place. She looked back behind her at Peter and gave him a grin. 

“Come on, Spidey.” 

She slipped out the window onto the small balcony overlooking the city. She sat down against the brick wall, folding her legs up as Peter climbed out. There was barely enough room for the two of them, so he ended up almost on top of one another. Peter tossed the blanket over the two of them and handed Gwen her cup. 

The night was spent drinking and laughing. Sharing stories of past memories, talking about future endeavors. Gwen found herself encaptured by every word he said. She’d never dated someone before, had never found anyone she thought she could see herself spending the entirety of her life with, but that night - that night she knew it was him. 

As the party began to grow quiet, Gwen found herself leaning a bit on Peter.  
“This has been really nice.” Peter said, his voice deep and gruff. 

“Yeah, it has been.” Gwen tipped her chin up, tilting her head as she realized their mouths were a lot closer than she’d thought they were. Her eyes flicked to Peter’s lips and when she looked up, her breath caught in the way he was staring at her. 

Gwen began to move forward, her eyes slowly closing as the space between them narrowed. 

“Gwen -” his voice was quiet - unsure. A battle again, she didn’t know what he was fighting, but she knew she wanted to be the winner. 

“Yeah?” She’d asked, centimeters from his lips. 

She saw the levee break as he closed the gap between them, wrapping her in passion and warmth.

Gwen blinks hard, bringing herself from the daydream. She’s leaving it behind. She’s leaving him behind. It's time for her to be done worrying about him and all the ways that he held her back. 

Gwen takes a long look at the rose, tears filling her eyes. “Goodbye Peter.” 

She stands, holding her bag tightly to her side, gripping the leather as though it were a lifeline, reminding herself over and over not to fall apart. Not yet. She’d said goodbye before, she’d done harder things than this. It was time to move on. 

She’d realized a long time ago that Peter wasn’t hers to lose. She’d had him tightly in her grasp for a brief moment - a gasp of fresh air before she sank - but he wasn’t hers. He’d belonged to someone else the entire time. She’d borrowed him for a bit, but he wasn’t hers to keep and he wasn’t hers to lose. Gwen couldn’t explain the hurt. She’d never wanted someone more desperately, she’d never wanted to _be_ the one more in her life. It was being handed the thing you most desperately want, loving and cherishing it more than anyone could imagine, only to lose it in a sweeping breath. A rug ripped from under her feet. She’d been falling since then, but now - now it was time to pick herself back up. She’d hit the ground, now it was time to move on. Time to leave the place where he’d left her. Peter Parker had moved on, it was time that Gwen Stacy did too.


End file.
